Business strategy and marketing: The positioning versus resource-based dichotomy and the way forward

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship that exists between business strategy and marketing strategy and how the latter may contribute towards the development of an integrated and systemic approach to organisation-wide strategy development. It finds that the two broad streams in strategy, namely positioning-based and resource-based have a reciprocal relationship and indeed complement each other. The link between business strategy and functional strategies, however, is unclear, particularly in the case of marketing strategy. This uncertainty is mainly attributable to the consideration that marketing strategy appears to be frozen within either a positioning or resource-based view. In this regard a conceptual framework has been proposed which combines the two business approaches into one integrated marketing mission approach. As such the marketing function performs a facilitating role in the formulation of overall organisational strategy in an integrative fashion.